On the eve of discussions among governments gathering at the United Nations, the Peoples General Assembly on Development Justice brings together peoples from around the world to share experiences and demand justice, human rights and accountability.
CSO formations and social movements from all over the Asia-Pacific region will meet on the 23rd and 24th of August in Bangkok Thailand to discuss a just development agenda in line with the post-2015 framework. The event aims to develop the capacity of Asia-Pacific civil society groups for a more active participation in forwarding the people’s goals as part of the post-2015 development agenda.
Organized by the Instituto Giramundo Mutuando, a member-organization of the People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), University of the State of Sao Paulo (UNESP) together with UFSCAR and the Movement of Landless Rural Workers, the Third International Meeting on Agroecology was launched last July 31. The organizers expect more than 2,000 participants including students, teachers, and producers in Brazil, Latin America, and other parts of the world.
EDM (Vol. 12 No. 4) COVER STORY Focus on Indonesia: WTO after 20 years: Impacts and challenges NEWS Asia-Pacific workers vow to turn
Around forty (40) civil society educators, facilitators and trainers gathered in Johannesburg, South Africa on June 25 to 27, 2013 to attend the first Global Training of Trainers (Global ToT) on CSO Development Effectiveness. The Global ToT was among the major activities of the CSO Partnership for Development Effectiveness (CPDE) through its Working Group on CSO Development Effectiveness (WG on CSO DE)* to reach out and encourage more civil society organizations to look closely into their organization’s praxis as accountable and effective independent development actors. The CPDE is the unified platform coming out from the two civil society processes, post-Busan High Level Forum IV, i.e. the Better Aid (BA) and the Open Forum on CSO Development Effectiveness (OF).
Youthful representatives of various Asian CSO fromations joined hundreds of young climate justice advocates from 134 countries at the Global Power Shift Summit in Istanbul from June 24 to 30. The Istanbul climate summit is the first-ever international conference dedicated to building a global youth movement towards solving the climate crisis.
Thousands of peasants held a protest action in Jakarta, Indonesia to highlight campaigns on land grabbing, the junking of WTO, and continued hikes in fuel prices. Rahmat Ajiguna, Secretary General of the Alliance of Agrarian Reform Movement/Aliansi Gerakan Reforma Agraria (AGRA), said that the protest is the Indonesian peasantry’s response to oppressive government policies.
The Campaign for People’s Goals (CPG) recently posted on its website (www.peoplesgoals.org) a detailed point-by-point response to the Official Report of the High Level Panel (HLP) on Post-2015. Key points of the CPG critique are summarized here.
Civil Society groups have responded to the long awaited release of the UN High Level Panel’s report to the UN Secretary General on the post 2015 development framework with disappointment. While the report aspires to eradicate extreme poverty and promote sustainable development it has failed to put forward meaningful recommendations or targets that would challenge the economic systems that fuel inequalities and environmental degradation according to diverse civil society groups from around the world.
GENEVA, Switzerland–On the twentieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, IBON International joined activists, academics, legal practitioners and UN representatives to consider progress in promoting and protecting economic and social rights.
GENEVA, Switzerland–On the twentieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, IBON International joined activists, academics, legal practitioners and UN representatives to consider progress in promoting and protecting economic and social rights.
Civil-society organisations (CSOs) deserve more say in global-governance matters. In particular, CSOs from developing countries tend to be marginalised in international affairs. IBON International, a Manila-based international NGO, wants to make a difference. It specialises in capacity building for grassroots movements in the Global South – and has launched a campaign for “People’s goals”.
Civil-society organisations (CSOs) deserve more say in global-governance matters. In particular, CSOs from developing countries tend to be marginalised in international affairs. IBON International, a Manila-based international NGO, wants to make a difference. It specialises in capacity building for grassroots movements in the Global South – and has launched a campaign for “People’s goals”.
JAKARTA, Indonesia – The People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS) organized the first Southeast Asia Civil Society Mechanism Consultation (CSM) on the Developments of Principles for Agricultural Investment, VG on Land and other priority CFS issues last May 23-25. The event was made possible by the efforts and initiatives of six regional organizations within the CSM Southeast Asia Working Group (CSM SEA SG). PCFS managed to induct new members and networks coming from Mongolia, Pakistan, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines to the consultation.
VALPARAISO, Chile—An international conference on Women on Small-Scale Fisheries was held last June 5-7 composed of delegations from Costa Rica, Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru, Honduras, Salvador, and parts of Chile. The event was organized by the National Confederation of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile (CONAPACH) to discuss issues faced by artisanal fisherfolk and the national fishing law in Chile. Other matters also included in the discussion were issues concerning the Voluntary Guidelines for Small-Scale Fisherfolk of FAO and the discrimination on women’s work in the sea.
In view of indigenous peoples’ concerns on aid and development effectiveness, several global groups are organizing the Indigenous Peoples’ Workshop on Aid and Development Effectiveness to be held on June 12, 2013 at the Finmark University College in Alta, Norway.